I was just going in for my final clean up before my move to Asia; a regular check up by all means. Before I even got comfortable in my chair, my dentist says “So your sister tells me you you’re moving to Asia.”

It started with the idea to have a Christmas Eve bonfire on the beach of Port Dickson (PD). The guest list grew from a small group of a few people to a large group of 40 plus. It was actually my first Christmas away from home and I was still missing the comforts of being home for the holidays.

I had finished my meeting with my friend and was hanging around to do some work. Sometimes I enjoy working outside in a coffee shop. It’s a change of scenery and that can make me more productive. On weekdays during the day, you will have an older crowd; what I refer to as the retired crowd. In the evenings and weekends, it’s a takeover by students. This was a weekday evening. Thus, it was jammed with students.

I had been biking on a rural island across the river up until now. But it was getting into the mid afternoon and I was getting hungry. I decided to stop at the little restaurant that was advertised to me this morning. I pulled up and ordered some fish amok – a traditional Cambodian dish. When it arrived, I was ready to enjoy a rewarding meal after my hot sweaty bike ride. It was at this time, a stranger walked up to my table and introduced himself to me.

“Of course there has to be a problem. It’s like a movie! It’s never an easy stroll” My friend remarked. In some ways he was telling me to go after her. But I knew him. He didn’t think it would ever work out anyways. I had no comment. I settled into the next city and tried to ignore the thoughts of the past few weeks.

And so we went our separate ways for about a week. I wrapped up my stops in the south and eventually went straight to Chiang Mai (my original plan was to go to Bangkok first). 30 hours. 1 boat, 1 bus, 1 train. I wouldn’t have minded it so much but I was anxious to see her. So the trip felt long. Really long. The decision to go was easy though. I wanted to see her and it seemed like she still wanted to see me.

I wasn’t originally planning to post this story. But my friend talked to me about my blogging and it reminded me of why I started this blog in the first place. So here it is. An unexpected story of happiness, fate, following your heart and so many other things.